Britus Village

When I opened the notice that the Main Quest had been updated, the previous objective had been promoted to a final goal, and a new one had been slotted in beneath it.

The reward hadn't changed. Still a string of question marks. But I couldn't just agree in a situation like this. This was a hard-won opening. Reputation mattered, yes — but if I accepted the commission as-is, I wouldn't be a decent man. I'd just be a sucker.

"Hmm... an investigation, is it..."

I put on a look of careful deliberation that had nothing to do with what I was actually thinking, and Village Chief Rusell spoke up a little hastily.

"Of course, given the difficulty of what we're asking, I intend to offer new compensation."

"...New compensation?"

The flicker of interest was all he needed. Rusell seemed to decide he couldn't let the moment slip, and pressed on at once.

"We'll pay double your current daily rate."

Our party's total hiring cost was currently ten gold a day — the lowest rate within B-Rank. To be precise, a B-Rank mercenary's daily wage ran around two gold. We were only pulling ten because we had a rare priest and a mage among us. Merchant escorts and long-term convoy work sometimes went cheaper depending on the difficulty and the negotiation. Conversely, higher difficulty or a bigger name could push the rate up.

Considering our first tutorial commission had paid five silver a day, the jump was genuinely absurd.

Double that would put our party's daily rate at twenty ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gold. A substantial sum, no question. But...

"...I'm not so sure. From the way you describe it, this investigation doesn't sound like ordinary work."

It was the kind of job that would be brutally hard — honestly, nearly impossible — for a B-Rank mercenary party, especially a single one. Our level was high, and I thought we could actually pull it off. Frankly, though, our raw combat power sat a bit below a typical ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠B-Rank mercenary party. Even with two mages and a priest, B-Rank mercenaries didn't command two gold a day for nothing. Their fighting ability was no joke.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

But this was reconnaissance. For that, we had Ha Yoo-jin with his stealth skill and Na-yeon with her spirits. No matter how skilled a B-Rank mercenary was, they couldn't match those two in this kind of work. When it came to scouting, we had a clear advantage.

"...That's true. But raising the pay any further..."

The village was reasonably wealthy as a medicinal-herb producer, but investing this much in us still wasn't easy. Three gold could hire five decent C-Rank mercenaries or more. Twenty gold was already a lot of money for a six-person party.

Push our rate any higher and we'd be approaching the treatment of well-known B-Ranks — and at that point, the other mercenaries would start getting restless.

"The money's sufficient as it is."

Of course, I was still going to take the double rate.

"Then what...?"

"Since the investigation will take place in gnoll territory, we'll have to go in as a small elite unit. But I don't think we're at the level for it."

"Not at all. With the skill you showed driving off five hundred-strong gnoll warbands in a single stroke..."

"That's exactly why. After fighting them, I can tell you those gnolls are no ordinary monsters. Frankly, I don't think we're at the level for this."

I said this while letting my hand drift, almost idly, over the battered bracer on my arm — half covering it.

Rusell's eyes lit up.

"I see... It's true your party's equipment hasn't been in the best condition... Very well. The village will provide equipment support for Yoo Shin-hoo's party."

"...Equipment support?"

"Yes. As a one-time reward for saving the village."

A one-time reward. Our performance this time had clearly left an impression. Raise someone's standing too high and you could never bring it back down — but a one-time bounty was just that: given once, and done. It would cost a considerable amount, but it would also lift the morale of the mercenaries and the militia, and it would treat us properly. A sound choice. I'd half steered him toward it, but I hadn't expected him to decide this fast. He hadn't become village chief of a place like this for nothing.

"Well... it's a little embarrassing to admit, but it's true our equipment is far below where it ought to be."

We were still using gear from the tutorial, and it showed. Aside from one of Na Seoyun's swords — the Sealed Lesser Wrath — Na-yeon's Elfwood Staff, and my Greatsword of Feeble Gravity, neither the quality nor the condition of our kit was anything to speak of.

We'd used it through the ninth-floor dungeon and the Labyrinth besides, and it hadn't been maintained particularly well. The condition was close to the worst it could be. That was how often we'd been fighting.

"New equipment would raise our combat power considerably, I imagine."

Better weapons, better armor. Everyone knew how much that mattered in a fight.

Of course, we weren't going to find proper magic gear in a place like this. That kind of thing was hard to buy even with money. No matter how wealthy the village was, they couldn't hand out equipment like that as a reward. Even so, if the quality of our kit went up, our combat power would rise — dramatically. That was how bad our current gear had gotten.

And if I could use this as a pretext to get us into Tidrind Castle in Area 25, I could look forward to a further jump in strength. Skills. If Ha Yoo-jin learned a skill there, his level would change entirely. A good opportunity.

"Quite so. Outstanding skill without proper equipment is a waste. Your sword looks relatively fine, Sir Shin-hoo, but the rest of the kit has been... a little wanting."

My Adventurer's Thick Leather Armor Set still functioned as it was supposed to, but it didn't look like much. And on the Lower Floors, better gear than this was everywhere. It was about time for a change.

"If you're offering to supply us with good equipment... that does change the conversation somewhat. What sort of quality did you have in mind?"

"Our region, centered on Tidrind Castle, is a borderland in all but name, so fighting is constant. That's forced us to keep developing our equipment, and by now we have a good number of truly excellent craftsmen. Our village can provide Yoo Shin-hoo's party with those craftsmen's finest custom-fitted gear."

Finest custom-fitted gear.

In gold, that would run to the thousands. Even on the Lower Floors, custom-fitting mage equipment, priest vestments, and a full set of frontline armor could easily blow past that once you counted materials and labor. And still Rusell answered without a moment's hesitation.

"Custom-fitted... the finest quality?"

"That's right. Time won't allow for full plate mail, but we can outfit you with gear well above what an ordinary mercenary would carry. Weapons and armor both."

"...That would cost thousands of gold."

"We can bear that much."

He was in a position where reputation mattered more than a healthy ledger. And this was a frontline village — lose that reputation, and the ledger wouldn't be worth the paper it was written on. For him, this might actually be the more practical choice. For all I knew, he was staking his seat as village chief on it.

"...If you're willing to go that far... I'll need to discuss it with my party."

"...Discuss it?"

He seemed a little taken aback that I wanted to talk it over with the others. I'd essentially decided the previous defense contract on my own, so he'd probably expected me to do the same this time.

Then his expression shifted to something like admiration. I'd been offered an immediate investment of thousands of gold and hadn't so much as flinched — and that, more than anything, seemed to settle his conviction. Even though our gear was in such poor shape that we ought to have been desperate for it.

"Yes. I'm the leader, but this commission is genuinely dangerous. The last one I thought we could handle with our current ability. This one, I don't. Even with the finest custom-fitted equipment, the danger doesn't go away. I usually take care of these things myself, but this commission is on a different level."

Honestly, I would have preferred to decide it alone and be done. But that wasn't how this worked. A dictator didn't last. The others had reached a point where they needed the experience of taking part in the party's deliberations, even a little. And once they had a voice in decisions like this, they'd feel more like they belonged — which made it a step we had to take. The final say, and the loudest voice, would still be mine as leader.

"Ha... haha. I see. I was too hasty."

"It's understandable. Don't worry. It won't take long. Once we've talked it over, I'll come see you again tomorrow."

"Very well. Please... I hope you'll look favorably on it."

I left Rusell and headed straight for where the others were waiting. They'd clearly been expecting me — all of them in a single room.

"Why isn't anyone resting?"

"You had it the hardest, Shin-hoo. They dragged you off the second the fighting stopped. That's why."

"It's not that big a deal... actually, good timing. We've got a follow-up commission."

"...A follow-up commission?"

"Yes. They want us to look into why the Golden Gnolls have been running wild like this over the past few years."

At the word investigate, Joo Ha-yeon reacted at once.

"...I was told that clause had become a dead letter."

There was an edge of anger in her voice. I went on.

"That's why it's a follow-up commission. They can't force it. If they tried, they'd have to fire every mercenary in this village."

They couldn't force it. At that, Joo Ha-yeon's anger subsided.

"It's far too dangerous, honestly. An investigation... we don't even know what kind of numbers we'd be walking into."

She understood, with cold clarity, that this commission was too dangerous for our party's strength, and she was more than a little furious at the village chief for proposing it.

"She's right. This one's different. It's not a dungeon — we don't even have terrain on our side — and they want us to scout that whole area? You know as well as I do, Shin-hoo. Those things track scent like nothing else. It's too dangerous."

Na-yeon was against it as well.

"...I'm against it too, Shin-hoo oppa. With our current strength..."

"I'll do it if you will, oppa."

"...If hyung's doing it, then..."

The two minors in favor, the three women against. I was tempted, honestly, but the women's objections weren't baseless.

I addressed the three of them.

"Scent we can handle. And the payment is too good."

"...What kind of payment are we talking about?"

"Double the pay, plus a full set of the finest custom-fitted gear from the best craftsmen in the region. For every member of the party, by the way. And this is a border region, so apparently the craftsmen here are no joke."

"...Custom-fitted gear? The finest quality?"

"...Oppa, is that true?"

Nam Eun-ju and Na Seoyun reacted instantly. Na Seoyun was so startled her words came out in pieces. She'd never managed it during those ridiculous "casual speech practice" sessions, but it came out just fine now. That was how shocked she was.

Nam Eun-ju was a tank — the one most affected by her equipment — and Na Seoyun was a Magic Swordsman. She used magic from the rear at times, but more often she tore through the front line right behind me. For both of them, gear mattered enormously. And in the Labyrinth there'd been no way to resupply, so the whole party had been quietly starving for better equipment.

"...Hyung, me too? I get one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too?"

"Of course you do. You're part of the party."

Even young Ha Yoo-jin perked up at the mention of gear. Fair enough — as a kid, the only thing he could call his own was a single weapon from the first floor. There was no way he didn't want equipment of his own.

"...Even if they give us gear, that doesn't make it less dangerous. We'd be better off earning the money and buying it ourselves..."

"For the record, custom-fitted gear of that quality would run to hundreds of gold per person. They've promised priest and mage equipment as well. It won't be full plate — nothing out of a knight-in-shining-armor picture — but they've indicated they'll fit us with solid weapons and armor across the board. If we add that on top of our current ability... what do you think?"

Joo Ha-yeon had nothing to say. It wasn't as if she didn't hunger for better gear. If anything, she hungered for it more. She'd borrowed Na-yeon's staff once or twice. She knew what that felt like. Of course she wanted it.

"...Even so, no. It's too dangerous."

She forced the words out.

"We're getting stronger so fast already. Let's take it step by step, all right? I think we're moving quickly enough as it is..."

Joo Ha-yeon looked at me, her voice almost pleading.

I was, frankly, a little thrown.

Every trainee I'd known — the ones from the first cycle — would have sold their souls for skills, gear, or elixirs. Greedy bastards who'd snap the moment the hunger reached their throats. And these people, even if they fell far short of the slaughterhouse I'd lived through, had still climbed the Tower with their lives on the line. Their obsession with strength shouldn't have been that far behind those first-cycle bastards.

I'd protected them and looked after them, yes — or rather, they'd entrusted almost all of their safety to me — so I'd assumed that would only make them hungrier for power. Dangle gear of that quality in front of them and they'd waver; push hard enough and they'd give in. That was what I'd expected.

Joo Ha-yeon valued me — valued all of us — far more than I had imagined.